Louis Discusses Commitment

At 6-foot-2, 235 pounds Kirk Louis Jr., looks the part of a middle linebacker. But there is a lot more to the Baton Rouge McKinley than football brute. He carries a 4.0 grade point average.

My parents always pushed school over football,’’ he said.

Louis arrived in Jonesboro on Friday and received an early tour of the facilities and ran into an old rival, Arkansas State defensive back Frankie Jackson.

“I got to talk to him,’’ said Louis. “He played at a rival high school but he is a legend as a running back in Baton Rouge. He spoke well of Arkansas State.”

Louis said he was considering committing to the Red Wolves during the Big Pack Weekend even before the got the recommendation from his hometown legend.

“I got here, met the coaches, visited the campus and the facilities and fell in love with the place,’’ he said.

“But mostly I fell in love with the coaches. They are genuine guys who work hard. My parents liked the coaching staff. They all made us feel like family. That was big.

“And I really liked the town. You see signs up everywhere you can tell they really love and support the school. I felt it was the best place for me.”My parents always pushed school first then football

He has visited Tennessee State, Jacksonville State, ULM and Tulane. He has offers from Navy, Southern, Howard and Yale.

“This is a big relief,’’ he said. “The coaches told us they can’t wait all year because there are others guys who want to commit so I went ahead and pulled the trigger.

“Now I can focus on the season and not have too much focus on recruiting because they can get very hectic,” he said. “I want to go out with a bang and really focus on my high school team. We have 22 seniors this year and six guys have Division 1 offers. We have a lot of experience and we are planning on a big season.”

McKinley competes in Class 5A, the largest in Louisiana.

“I love to go sideline to sideline making plays,’’ he said. “I love to blitz. I mostly play linebacker but I have played defensive end some. I have been begging our coaches to let me play offense but they say they need me on defense.”

For the Red Wolves, Louis is expected to play as an inside linebacker.

He was one of four commitments for the Red Wolves on Saturday, the first day of the Big Pack Weekend. Also on Saturday, offensive lineman Christian Castleberry of Mesquite, Texas, and Branquavious Bussey of Lanett, Ala., and running back Devante Williams of Moody, Ala., of Moody, Ala. Defensive lineman Fred Brown, a defensive tackle from Hahnville, La., committed on Friday.